AC72 class

Team New Zealand AC72, San Francisco Bay
Development
Design	Box rule
Boat
Crew	11
Draft	4.4 m (14 ft)
Hull
Type	Catamaran
Hull weight	5,900 kg (13,000 lb)
LOA	26.2 m (86 ft)
LWL	22.0 m (72.2 ft)
Beam	14.0 m (45.9 ft)
Rig
Mast Length	40.0 m (131.2 ft)
Sails
Mainsail area	260 m2 (2,800 sq ft) (wing estimate)
Upwind Sail Area	580 m2 (6,200 sq ft) (wing and gennaker estimate)

The AC72 (America's Cup 72 class) is a wingsail catamaran box rule, governing the construction and operation of the yachts to be used in the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup and the 2013 America's Cup. The class was subsequently replaced by the smaller AC50 class.

Following the 2010 America's Cup, where the Golden Gate Yacht Club's USA 17 trimaran defeated the catamaran Alinghi 5, it was decided by the winners that the next America's Cup competition would be sailed in catamarans in the hope of making the sport more attractive to television audiences. At the same time a smaller sister class, the AC45, was developed to allow teams to practice and adjust to the new formula as well as create a greater exposure of sailing to the general public with the America's Cup World Series.

The AC72 has the following maximum specifications:

Maximum Speed

It was expected to sail faster than the wind: upwind at 1.2 times the speed of the true wind, and downwind at 1.6 times the speed of the true wind. But in fact it proved faster, averaging about 1.8 times the speed of the wind with peaks slightly over 2.3.Emirates Team New Zealand sailed at 44.15 knots (81 km/h, 50 mph) in 15.8 knots of wind (2.79 times the wind speed) on July 18, 2013.

Typical racing speeds are over 30 knots (55 km/h, 34 mph) with the boats capable of sailing well over 40 knots (74 km/h, 46 mph) in the right conditions. The fastest race speed recorded was on Emirates Team New Zealand which was 47.57 knots (88 km/h, 55 mph) in 21.8 knots of wind (2.2 times the wind speed) on September 24, 2013.